Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Millinery: Summer fun

Speaking of Lilly Dache...it was said that she was once interviewed wearing a hat while in the bath tub. She was never seen without a hat.

In the 1950-1960's, going swimming was no reason to go without a fetching design on your pretty little head.

Swim caps were yet another way to express yourself, and wildly at that.

I remember wearing a yellow swim cap as I swam in the Pacific Ocean, and my friend wearing a red cap. Our mothers sat reading and chatting on shore and didn't want to lose sight of us, so they made us wear the yellow and red caps, keeping us easy to spot in the frothy white surf.

Lazy life guarding, but it worked.

Putting the cap on always hurt, and the taking it off was even worse. Lots of times the cap went askew, blasted loose by a vigorous wave break, the chin strap doing its part to keep the cap from being lost to a water grave.

I envied the rubber flower caps that were sported by the fashionable ladies. It was always tempting to pull the petals to see how far they would stretch. No one ever did much serious swimming in those hats. But they sure were cute.

ebay seems to have a steady supply of these creations. I wish I had thought to get one when I was a younger woman. But then again, when I was a younger woman ebay simple wasn't, and now that I am older, I prefer as little attention as possible when I don my swim suit and head into the water.

On the other hand, if I did wear one of those fancy swim caps, maybe I wouldn't need to try to hold my tummy in any more. What's a tummy and jiggly thighs, compared to the spectacle of a rubber flower garden blooming on my head?

I'm Jill. I'm a librarian and milliner now living in Salt Lake City with my husband of 37 years and my three shelter adopted cats. I'm 60, was born and expected I would spent my whole life in San Diego, save for two years in Corvallis Oregon in college.
Then beginning in 1997, right after our youngest graduated from high school my husband and I began "empty nesting" on the move. We lived one year in Almenden CA (San Jose area), two years in Dallas TX and eight years on Houston TX before moving Salt Lake City in the fall of 2008.
I love it here, but counting on Heaven being my ultimate hometown! I do hope we will one day be neighbors there?
I have two adult children; a daughter in San Diego and a son (and daughter-in-law) who also live in Salt Lake City; two beloved grandsons, and parents who were born and still live in San Diego, and who read my blog every day.